January 07, 2009

Sticks, Stones and Bones: The Mineral Year

A moment of vent: I'm just reading that Larry Flynt and the porn industry are asking for federal bailout money. This has to be a joke, right? Yet they appear to be doing this with a straight face. Women and girls can't get equal pay or health insurance, but let's all pay for porn, and the auto industry's Viagra bill while we're at it. Really. Really? Smack 'em down, Obama, with some of that cool "don't waste my time" disdain. Thank you.

Over on Prana Pages, one of the few highly readable yoga blogs, TeriLeigh has a great post about 2009 as a mineral year in her shamanic system. "The wisdom of this year lies in our bones, in the stones of the earth, in all that is not burned in the fire, changed by the nature, or washed away in the flood," she writes. Last year was a Nature year, and 2007 a Fire year.

This was so intriguing to me. I began to think about how a mineral year might manifest in art and textile work. TeriLeigh is talking about structure (and for the astrologers, doesn't this fit perfectly with Saturn in Virgo and Pluto in Capricorn?), the foundations of things, the bones that give things shape, the hard that supports the soft. In textiles, it's easy to overdose on the soft aspects of craft -- pretty colors and comforting textures. For something to be truly lasting, it needs strength and form as well as color and pattern.

Minerals have been used for dyeing for thousands of years, and needles have been made of stone or horn. Stones become beads and even jewels, under enough pressure. Metals become shisha mirrors and gold or silver threads or coils of copper. There's a lot of visual material and ideas to work with in the concept of a mineral year.

It's been very dry here; it's cold, but there is no snow on the ground or anything green. It occured to me that this is a mineral time of year, when the bones of the landscape are exposed, without flowers or botanica or other decorative covers. The colors are subtle and dusty, like stones, and we have what remains when the fire is out and nature has gone underground, before color and pattern and lush textures appear again.

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10 Qualities of Slow Cloth, by Elaine Lipson

I defined Slow Cloth several years ago on this blog. Read the original post at http://lainie.typepad.com/redthread/2008/01/this-must-be-th-1.html. (Copyright Elaine Lipson 2007-2011; all rights reserved).

Joy

Slow Cloth has the possibility of joy in the process. In other words, the journey matters as much as the destination.

Contemplation

Slow Cloth offers the quality of meditation or contemplation in the process.

Skill

Slow Cloth involves skill and has the possibility of mastery.

Diversity

Slow Cloth acknowledges the rich diversity and multicultural history of textile art.

Teaching

Slow Cloth honors its teachers and lineage even in its most contemporary expressions.

Materials

Slow Cloth is thoughtful in its use of materials and respects their source.

Quality

Slow Cloth artists, designers, crafters and artisans want to make things that last and are well-made.

Beauty

It's in the eye of the beholder, yes, but it's in our nature to reach for beauty and create it where we can.

Community

Slow Cloth supports community by sharing knowledge and respecting relationships.

Expression

Slow Cloth is expressive of individuals and/or cultures. The human creative force is reflected and evident in the work.